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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · net · press · spring · chip · game · clip · safe

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. game — wild animals
  3. net — after costs
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. press — to push
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — a group
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — a video
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. press — a publisher
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. clip — for paper
  17. game — a match
  18. spring — a coil
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com